Tuesday’s memorial service showed a tired president whose hopes for change had been thwarted. “At times, it seems like the forces pulling us apart are stronger than the forces binding us together”. “It’s as if the deepest fault lines of our community have been exposed, perhaps even widened”. “We must reject such despair”.
Advertisement
The shootings broke out near the end of a peaceful march through downtown Dallas by mostly black demonstrators after the police shootings of black men last week in Minnesota and Louisiana. In comments since the Dallas shooting, Obama has urged the public to recognize and respect that police officers have a tough job.
Each officer was represented by an empty chair in the auditorium, each adorned with a folded U.S. flag and officer’s cap.
Then, former President George W. Bush, who lives in Dallas, took the podium. “Too often we judge other groups by their worst examples, while judging ourselves by our best intentions”. “This has strained our bonds of understanding and common goal…”
But Obama also made a call for Bush’s fellow Republicans to realize the cost of their opposition to gun control and spending on mental health and drug treatment. “We want the unity of hope, affection and higher goal”.
Obama, the first black US president, has drawn criticism in the past from some in law enforcement for his tone in the aftermath of shootings by officers.
Obama planned to return to that message in his speech Tuesday and his choice of traveling companions underscored the theme. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, flew to Dallas on Tuesday.
He described the attack as deeply personal.
That’s what he did at the service for the families of those who died.
“We mourn fewer people today because of your fearless actions”, Obama told a crowd of several hundred people, including many uniformed police officers, at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center.
From Charleston to Orlando to last week’s ambush in Dallas, by a black gunman out to kill whites in retribution for police violence, the past year has seen a torrent of slaughter motivated by hate.
Portions of both shootings were videotaped and broadcast nationwide, leading to fresh outrage, protests and scores of arrests.
Mr Obama’s trip comes amid mounting racial tension across the country.
He praised the Dallas Police Department for being on the forefront of policing reform, and noted that the number of complaints about excessive force by police has gone down in the city in recent years.
Obama was invited by Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings.
President Barack Obama is expected to arrive in Dallas to pay tribute to the five police officers who were shot and killed during a deadly sniper attack.
The president also argued that protesters working for police reform “do a disservice to the very cause of justice that they claim to promote”, if they paint all officers as bigoted.
Advertisement
There has been a renewed tense conversation on the relationship between Americans and the police after two Black men, Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, were killed by officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and St. Paul, Minnesota, respectively.
